New Egyptian President Starts Building Administration
Published at
AFP/GettyImages(CAIRO) — Wasting no time after his historic victory, Egyptian President-elect Mohammed Morsi got right to work on Monday to begin building an inclusive civilian administration.
Morsi narrowly defeated former Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq to become the country’s first Islamist head of state.
In an effort to encourage diversity in his new cabinet of vice presidents, Morsi resigned from the Muslim Brotherhood and its Freedom and Justice Party.
Morsi’s task is considerable, given the political vacuum that has existed in Egypt since former President Hosni Mubarak was ousted in February 2011 in a popular movement that came to be known as the Arab Spring.
The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has ruled since then and in the process stripped away many of the powers of the incoming president.
There is speculation that Egypt will have a Pakistan-style government in which the military continues to run the country.
Furthermore, the council is unlikely to cede control of foreign affairs either, which should ease Western concerns that Morsi might try to strengthen ties with Iran while weakening Egypt’s alliance with Israel.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio